Sliding door assembly

ABSTRACT

A TRACK SUSPENDED SLIDING DOOR ASSEMBLY COMPRISING AN OVERHEAD TRACK HAVING A PLURALITY OF RECESSES ALONG ONE MEMBER THEREOF FOR SLIDABLY RECEIVING A LIKE NUMBER OF BEVELED WHEELS AS THE DOOR MOVES INWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY SO AS TO SEAL THE MARGINALLY ADHERED DOOR GASKET AGAINST THE WALL AND FLOOR SURFACES ADJACENT THE DOOR OPENING. THE DOOR INCLUDES AN ELONGATED INVERTED V COEXTENDING WITH THE BOTTOM EDGE THEREOF TO SLIDABLY ENGAGE A PLURALITY OF SUBJACENT GUIDES WHICH AID IN MOVING THE LOWER PORTION OF THE DORR DOWNWARDLY AND INWARDLY, OBVIATING THE CLOSED DOOR FROM SWINGING AWAY FROM THE WALL.

Ust. 12, 19H J. N. SAINO 3,6ll637 SLIDING DOOR ASSEMBLY MIM EZ, 19N J. N, SMN@ 3,611,63?

SLIDING DOOR ASSEMBLY Filed March 4, 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet 7:

INVENTOR. JOSEPH N. SAINO BY Ka/@MHZ United States tetta;u

3,6ll3'7 Patented Oct. 12, 1971 ABSTRACT OF 'THE DISCLOSURE A track suspended sliding door assembly comprising an overhead track having a plurality of recesses along one member thereof for slidably receiving a like number of beveled wheels as the door moves inwardly and downwardly so as to seal the marginally adhered door gasket against the wall and Hoor surfaces adjacent the door opening. The door includes an elongated inverted V coextending with the bottom edge thereof to slidably engage a plurality of subjacent guides which aid in moving the lower portion of the door downwardly and inwardly, obviating the closed door from swinging away from the wall.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (l) Field of the invention This invention is in the eld of building and more particularly, pertains to a sliding door.

(2) Description of the prior art The broad concept of having a horizontally sliding door or the like move inwardly and downwardly in sealing engagement was practiced prior to the turn of the century, as evidenced by the Summermann Patent No. 520,713 where he employs a trolley-type roller from which the door is hung by a hanger, and the roller ridingly engages a track. The applicant is unable to determine from the teaching of the Summermann Patent 520,713 how the problem of binding is obviated. The portion of the track upon which the roller is rolling when the door is open is at a raised horizontal level. When the door is slidingly moved toward the stationary frame, it encounters a dip in the track. The track dips downwardly and inwardly to carry the portion of the door held by the hanger downwardly and inwardly towards the stationary frame of the door, sealing the door against the wall or frame. However, this inward bend of the track will change the parallel relationship of the door with the stationary frame and it appears that the door will bind against the frame structure when in this angular displacement. Additional pat ents of which the applicant has knowledge are: the Conrad Patent No. 1,635,926; the Angell Patent No. 2,517,- 823; the Clark Patent No. 2,878,532; and the Markus Patent No. 3,276,166. None of the above patents specifically disclose the structure of the door of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed towards overcoming the heretofore-mentioned disadvantages of a sliding door assembly. The door of the present invention comprises a typical door panel having dimensions considerably greater than the dimensions of the passageway which the door is intended to close, which is slidably suspended from a horizontal track assembly by at least three single wheel-like rollers positioned in a spaced apart tandem relationship in a single plane.

The elongated track assembly, having a length substantially twice the width of the panel, comprises two juxtapositioned joined members which form an elongated V-shaped track surface that guide the rollers as they carry the door from an open to a closed position and from a closed to an open position. The rollers have two circumferential continuous beveled surfaces which ridingly engage the V-shaped track.

An important feature of the door assembly is that one member (closest to the wall) of the track assembly has a plurality of recesses which the corresponding beveled surfaces of the rollers slip into. These recesses, one for each roller, are positioned on the track assembly in such a manner that all of the rollers slip into their respective recesses simultaneously when the door has traveled along the track to a desired closed position. The depth of each recess is suicient to carry the door inwardly toward the wall and downwardly toward the floor, thus sealing the gaskets adhered to the perimeter of the door tightly against the wall and floor.

Another feature of the door assembly is an elongated inverted V groove coextending with the bottom edge of the door which coacts with a plurality of subjacent guide members which are suitably anchored to the oor adjacent the threshold of the passageway. At least one guide member is elevated slightly above a plurality of lower or shorter guide members and guides and constrains the bottom portion of the door as it is moving to and from an open or closed position. At least two shorter guide members, one on either side of the passageway, guides and constrains the door in a substantially parallel relationship with the wall as the door is approaching the fully closed position. As the trailing edge of the door passes the taller guide member, the rollers approach the recesses which allow the door to gravitate inwardly and downwardly. Accordingly, the shorter guide members, having an inclined surface corresponding to and engaged with the inverted V, force the bottom portion of the door downwardly and inwardly sealing the gaskets tightly against the wall and floor, obviating the closed door from swinging away from the wall.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. l is an elevation view of the door assembly ot' the present invention whereby the door panel is depicted by solid lines in a closed position and by broken lines in an open position.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken as on the line II*II of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken as on the line lIII- III of FIG. 1, with the door being in an open position.

FIG. 4 is a plan View of two guide members taken as on the datum plane X-X.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken as on the line V-V of FIG. l.

FIG. 6 is a sectional View taken with the door in an open position as depicted by broken lines and taken as on the line VI-VI of FIG. l.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a recessed portion of the track taken as on the line VII-VII of FIG. 5, with the roller removed for clarity.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken as on the line VIII- VIII of IFIG. l.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFER'ED EMBODIMENT The door assembly 11 of the present invention generally comprises an overhead track assembly 13 from which a plurality of wheel-like rollers ridingly support a suspended traversing door panel 17. The panel 17 is manually urged from an open position (whereby the panel 17 assumes a substantially parallel spaced apart relationship with a -wall 19 adjacent a passageway 21) to a closed position (whereby the panel 17 blocks the passageway 21, i.e., with a substantially air tight seal) as best viewed in FIG. 1. The door assembly 11 includes a plurality of subjacent guide members: at least one relatively tall guide member 23 and at least two shorter guide members 25, the function of which will be more apparent after the remaining structure has been disclosed.

The track assembly 13 comprises two elongated members 27, 29, formed of bar steel or the like, which have a length considerably greater than twice the width of the panel 17. The member 27, having a substantially square cross section, is contiguously joined to the member 29, by any suitable means, as by drilled, aligned and tapped holes which receive threaded bolts (not shown). The member 29 has a rectangular cross section with the larger of the two cross sectional dimensions being substantially twice the cross sectional dimension of the member 27. From FIG. 6 of the drawings, it may be seen that when the members 27, 29 are of the preferred cross sectional dimensions and suitably joined, they form a V-like valley having a rst surface 31 on the member 27 and a second surface 33 on the member 29. It should be' understood that the track assembly 13 may be constructed so that the members 27, 29 may be integral without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

The track assembly 13, being in a substantially horizontal position, is removably secured to the wall 19 by a plurality of suitably constructed support brackets 35 and attaching bolts 37. The support brackets 35 are identical one with the other, and are preferably configured substantially as illustrated in FIGS. l and 6 where it can be seen that: the two surfaces 31, 33 of the members 27, 29 respectively of the track assembly 13 are disposed substantially 45 from the horizontal plane and the track assembly 13 is positioned a predetermined distance from the wall 19 and the floor which will assure proper mating with the wall 19 and the oor surface adjacent the threshold of the passageway 21, in a manner yet to be described. It should be understood that while the preferred angular displacement between the surfaces 31, 33 of the members 27, 29 is 90 and that the angular displacement between the surfaces 31, 33 and the horizontal plane is 45 it is not to be so limited Since any angular displacement providing a similar function of the rollers 15 and track assembly 13 is intended to be within the full scope of this invention.

The panel 17 is rollingly suspended from the track assembly 13 by suspension assemblies 38, each of which includes a wheel-like roller 15 rotatably attached to a U-shaped hanger member 39, which also is a part of the suspension assembly and has a suitably configured structure substantially as depicted in FIGS. l, and 6. From FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings, it may be seen that the rollers are rotatably attached to the hanger member 39 by an axle bolt 41. Further, from FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings, it may be seen that the hanger member 39 extends up and over the rollers 15 thence vertically downward at a spaced apart distance which will preclude interference with the support brackets 35 and/or the track assembly 13, particularly when the door panel 17 moves into a closed position, which will be more meaningful when the remaining structure has been disclosed. It may also be seen in FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings that the hanger member 39 has a lower portion 43 bent inwardly toward the wall 19 so as to assume a substantially horizontal position. The lower portion 43 of the hanger member 39 yhas a suitable aperture (not shown) for receiving one end of a hanger bolt 45 which has the other end Securely attached to an uppermost edge 47 of the door panel 17. The function of the door assembly 11 is yet to be described, however, the function is such that at least three hanger members 39, 39 and 39 are required. From FIG. l of the drawings, it may be seen that the hanger members 39, 39 and 39" are distinctly so designated while the panel 17 is depicted in the closed position only. In order to differentiate between an open position and a closed position in FIG. l, the same hangers are designated 40, 40', 40 respectively while the panel 17 is depicted in an open position.

The door panel 17, having dimensions greater than the dimensions of the passageway 21, comprises a planar member 49, formed of any suitable material, as for example, wood or the like. The uppermost edge 47 of the panel 17 comprises a metallic skin which extends beyond the edge thereof forming two margins which cover the front and rear portions of the member 49, as best viewed in FIGS. 5 and 6. The panel 17 also includes protective metallic skin coverings 51, 53 along the vertical edges with one edge 51 being clearly illustrated in FIG. 8. From FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings, it may be seen that the bottom edge of the panel 17 comprises a metallic skin member 55 having an elongated inverted V-shaped channel 57. The channel 57 has a surface 59 substantially disposed at an angle of 90 to a surface 61, the purpose of which will be more apparent when the remaining structure has been disclosed. However, it should be understood that the surface 59 of the member 55 of the panel 17 is preferably parallel to the surface 33 on the member 29 of the track assembly 13. Also, the surface 61 of the member 55 of the panel 17 preferably is parallel to the surface 31 on the member 27 of the track assembly 13. In other words, the angle of the surfaces 59, 61 of the channel 57 of the panel 17 should correspond accordingly to any change in the angular displacement of the member 27, 29 of the track assembly 13.

The door panel 17 also includes suitably shaped perimeter gaskets, formed from resilient rubber or the like, comprising an upper horizontal gasket 63, two vertical gaskets 65, 67 and a lower horizontal gasket 69. The upper gasket 63 is preferably adhered to the metallic edge 47 by a suitable bonding agent (not shown) in a manner substantially depicted in FIGS. 5 and 6. The gaskets 65, 67 preferably are adhered to the metallic edge members 51, 53 by a suitable bonding agent (not shown) substantially as depicted in FIGS. l, 2 and 3. rl`he lower ends of the gaskets 65, 67 extend beyond the lowermost edge of the member 55 so as to overlap the ends of the horizontal gasket 69. The horizontal gasket 69 preferably is adhered to the member 55 by a suitable bonding agent (not shown) substantially as depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3. It should be understood that the gasket 69` forms an airtight seal between the member 55 and the floor and the gaskets 63, 65, 67 form an airtight seal between the members 47, 51, 53 respectively and the appropriate portion of the wall `19, when the panel 17 is in a fully closed position as best viewed in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, but yet to be described.

The rollers 15 have a circumferential beveled edge 71 which runningly and ridingly engages the surface 33 of the member 29 of the track assembly 13 and a circumferential beveled edge 73 which runningly and ridingly engages the surface 31 of the member 27 of the track assembly 13. It should be understood that the angular displacement between the two beveled edges 71, 73 preferably is 90 so as to present optimum surface to surface contact between the rollers 15 and the members 27, 29 of the track assembly 13. Also, any variations in the angular displacement of the track assembly 13 as heretofore disclosed will, of course, necessitate corresponding changes in the angular displacement between. the two edges 71, 73 of the rollers 15. From the foregoing it will be understood that beveled edges 71, 73 respectively taper from adjacent the central peripheral portion 15a of roller 15 in substantially opposite directions inwardly towards the opposite sides 15b, 15e of the roller with beveled edges 71, 73 lying in planes perpendicular to one another.

A unique feature of the track assembly 13 is the recesses 75 (FIG. 7) which are machined onto the surface 31 of the member 27. The track assembly 13 includes one recess 75 for each roller 15 of which there preferably are at least three, for reasons yet to be disclosed. Each recess 75 has a gradual curved incline portion 77, a curved valley 79 having a lowermost point 81 and an arresting curved portion 33. The recesses 75 in the member 27 of the track assembly 13 are precisely positioned thereon so that when the panel 17 is in a fully closed position, the center of each roller 15 is aligned with the lowermost point 81. Also, the inclined surface 77 of each recess 75 is orientated toward the right of the track assembly 13 when viewed in FIG. l. Thus, when the panel 17 is manually urged towards a closed position, the rollers 15 will simultaneously first encounter the gradually inclined surface 77, then gravitate to the lowermost point 81, at which time the panel 17 is moving in three directions simultaneously: from right to left as viewed in FIG. 1; inwardly toward the wall as from FIG. 6` to FIG. so as to contiguously engage the gaskets 63, 65, 67 with the wall 19; downwardly as from FIG. 3 to FIG. 2 so as to contiguously engage the gasket 69 with the floor adjacent the threshold of the passageway 21. The rollers come to rest when encountering the arresting curved portion 83 having a sharp inclined surface which functions as a door stop. It should be understood that a supplemental door stop (not shown) could be incorporated, comprising a suitably constructed bumper secured to the wall 19 in a typical fashion.

The lowermost portion of the panel 17 is guidingly constrained, as it traverses from an open to a closed position or from a closed to an open position, primarily by the taller guide member 23, as best viewed in FIGS. 3 and 4. The guide member 23, formed from steel or the like, is substantially circular in horizontal cross-section and includes a frustoconical surface 85 which is substantially at the same angle as the surfaces 59, 61 of the V-shaped channel 57 of the member 55. The surfaces 59 and/ or 61 of the channel 57 slidingly but freely engage the surface 85 of the guide member 23 as the door traverses as above-described.

When the panel 17 is being urged manually from an open to a closed position, the trailing edge 53 of the panel 17 passes the guide member 23 before the rollers ,15 encounter the inclined surface 77 of the member 27 of the track assembly 13. The lowermost portion of the panel 17 is then guidingly constrained during the remaining traverse movement by the short guide members 25.

The guide members 25, formed from steel or the like, are substantially circular in horizontal cross-section and include a conical surface 89 which is substantially at the same angle as the surface 85 of the taller guide member 23. From FIG. 3 of the drawing, it may be seen that the surface S5 of the taller guide member 23 and the surface 89 0f the short guide member 25 are in alignment so that the surfaces 59 and/or 61 of the channel 57 can slidably but freely engage the two surfaces 85, 89 simultaneously. This transitional engagement assures that the bottom portion of the panel 17 will not swing outwards from the wall 19 due to moving air currents while it is in the preliminary phase of closing. Further, from FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings, it may be seen that the short guide members are positioned closer to the wall than is the taller guide member 23 and that the two surfaces 85, 89 are in line with the other. It should be understood that both guide members 25 are positioned at an equal distance from the wall 19. Further, the guide members 23, 25 are firmly anchored to the floor in any suitable well known manner.

When the panel 17 is in the final phase of closing, the rollers 15 encounter the recesses 75 as above-described which allow the door to gravitate inwardly and downwardly. During the final phase of closing, the lowermost portion of the panel 17 is guided downwardly and inwardly as from FIG. 3 to FIG. 2 by the appropriate portions of the inclined surface 59 (adjacent the vertical edges 51, 53) of the channel 57 engaging the surfaces 89 of the shorter guide members 25, as best viewed in FIG. 1.

An important feature of the subject invention is that the panel 17 is slidably suspended from a straight line track assembly 13 by a plurality of single rollers 15 bear- 6 ing on the 45 surfaces 31, 33 of the track assembly 13. Equally significant is the unique lateral sliding of the rollers 15 into the recesses 75 while all the time bearing on the 45 surfaces of both their beveled edges 71, 73 and simultaneously runningly and ridingly engaging the surfaces 31, 33 of the track assembly 13.

FI-G. l of the drawings depicts the panel 17 in an open position by broken lines and in a closed position by solid lines. While FIG. l does not show the recesses in the track assembly 13, the above disclosure fully describes the recesses 75 which are directly in line with the center of each roller 15 when the panel 17 is in the fully closed position. A better understanding of the operation of the door assembly 11 is realized by the reader visualizing these recesses in FIG. l. The hanger vmembers 39, 39', 39" represent the positions on the track assembly 13 of the recesses 75 and the hanger members 4t), 40', 40" represent the positions of the hanger members when the panel 17 is in a fully opened position.

Another important feature of the door assembly 11 is the intermediate roller 15' and the off-center placement thereof, i.e., positioned between the vertical centerline of the panel 17 and the vertical leading edge 51. Arranging the rollers 15, 15', 15" and their respective hangers 39, 39', 39" with corresponding recesses 75 in the above manner assures that the fully closed position of the panel 17 is the only position along the track assembly 13 in which more than one roller 15 can encounter a recess 75 at one time. Therefore, the recesses 75, while on a single straight line track, do not interfere with the opening and closing traverse travel of the panel 17.

The operation of the door assembly 11 is as follows: Assuming the panel 17 to be in a fully closed position, the operator, grasping a handle (not shown), urges the door towards the right, as viewed in FIG. 1. This action causes the three rollers 15, 15', 15" to climb out of their respective recesses 75 up the inclined surfaces 77, thus traversing along the track assembly 13. Since the distance between the rollers 15, 15' is less than the distance between the rollers 15', 15", the rst roller to encounter a recess is the roller 15 encountering the intermediate recess. The roller 15 does not gravitate into this intermediate recess because the panel 17 is supported by the two rollers 15', 15" which are straddling the recess located toward the right as viewed in FIG. l. The panel 17 traverses smoothly along the track assembly 13. and the intermediate roller 15' next encounters the righthand recess 75 as viewed in FIG. l. At this time, the panel 17 is suspended by the two end rollers 15, 15" which are straddling the righthand recess 75, so the roller 15' does not gravitate into the righthand recess. The panel 17 continues to traverse along the track assembly 13 until the roller 15 encounters the righthand recess as viewed in FIG. 1. At this time, the panel 17 is suspended by the two rollers 15', 15" which are positioned well to the right of the righthand recess, as viewed in FIG. l. Therefore, the roller 15 does not gravitate into the righthand recess 75. The panel 17 continues to traverse smoothly to a fully opened position as depicted in broken lines in FIG. 1. It should be understood that the roller 15 is attached to the hanger shown as at 40, the roller 15 is attached to the hanger shown as at 40' and the roller 15 is attached to the hanger shown as at 40" when the panel 17 is in the fully opened position.

The above disclosure pertains to a door assembly 11 orientated as depicted in FIG. l, i.e., moving from right to left when coming to a closed position. It should be nnderstood that the door assembly 11 could be arranged so as to travel from a left to a right position when being closed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. In this regard, an intermediate roller 15 and hanger 39' would be shifted to the right as viewed in FIG. l so as to be situated between what is to become the leading edge 53 and the vertical centerline of the panel 17. Also, the recesses 75 would be reversed, i.e.,

the inclined surface 77 and the arresting curved portion 83 would be positioned in an opposite manner. The lowermost point 81 of each recess 75 would, of course, be directly in line with the center of each roller 15, 15 when the panel 17 is in the fully closed position. In addition, it should be understood that, if desired, the present invention may be utilized on center opening doors in which the door is in two parts with one part moved off in one direction and the other part in the opposite direction to open the door. Also, it should be understood that the door of the present invention may be power operated as well as manually operated without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that it is not to be so limited since changes and modifications may be made therein which are within the full intended scope of this invention,

I claim:

1. A door assembly for closing an opening in a wall, comprising a track having a V-shaped valley including a first surface and a second surface, means for suspending said track adjacent said opening in said wall, said first surface being provided with surface means defining at least three recesses spaced apart at uneven distances, a door, suspension means for suspending said door from said track; said suspension means including at least three hangers attached to said door, at least three rollers, and means respectively rotatably mounting said rollers from said hangers at spaced apart distances corresponding with the spacing of said recesses, each of said rollers including a pair of beveled edges respectively parallel with said first and second surfaces and runningly engaging said first and second surfaces and simultaneously moveable into engagement with said means defining said recesses when said door is adjacent the closed position thereof to allow said rollers and said door to move inwardly and downwardly towards said opening when said rollers are respectively engaged with said means defining said recesses and said door is moving towards a completely closed disposition.

2. The door assembly of claim 1 in which each of said means defining a said recess includes a gradually inclined portion leading into a sharply inclined portion that acts as a stop for a said roller.

3. The door assembly of claim 2 in which said first and second surfaces are perpendicular to one another and said beveled edges respectively taper from adjacent the central peripheral portion of a said roller in substantially opposite directions inwardly towards the opposite sides of a said roller with said beveled edges lying in planes perpendicular to one another.

4. The door assembly of claim 3 in which said door includes means defining a channel in the lower edge of said door, at least a pair of short guide members each having an upper surface in position to be received in said channel when said door is in a closed position, and at least a tall guide member taller than said short guide members and having an upper surface in position to be received in said channel when said door is moving between open and closed positions, said tall guide member being spaced farther from said opening than said short guide members,

5. The door assembly of claim 4 in which said channel is inverted V-shaped and in which said upper surfaces of said guide members are substantially conical and are substantially in alignment with one another when viewed from one end 0f said door.

6. A door assembly for closing an opening in a wall, comprising a track having a valley including a rst surface and a second surface, means for suspending said track adjacent said opening in said wall, said first surface Vbeing provided with surface means defining at least three recesses spaced apart at uneven distances, a door, suspension means for suspending said door from said track; said suspension means including hanger means attached to said door, at least three rollers, and means respectively rotatably mounting said rollers from said hangers at spaced apart distances corresponding with the spacing of said recesses, each of said rollers including edges runningly engaging said first and second surfaces and simultaneously movable into engagement with said means defining said recesses when said door is adjacent the closed position thereof to allow said rollers and said door to move inwardly and downwardly toward said opening when said rollers are respectively engaged with said means defining said recesses and said door is moving towards a completely closed disposition.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,276,166 10/1966 Markus 49-410 FOREIGN PATENTS 551,144 1/1958 Canada 49-409 KENNETH DOWNEY, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 49-410 

